Dr. James R. Gregg received two degrees from Ohio State, a BS in Business Administration in 1937, and a BS in Optometry in 1942. He then moved to a warmer climate and earned his OD degree in 1948 from the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO, then known as the Los Angeles College of Optometry). He served on the SCCO faculty for 37 years (1947 to 1984). He was also the interim dean of Academic Affairs at SCCO from 1975 to 1976 and grants administrator there from 1976 to 1984. At his retirement in 1984, he was named Professor Emeritus.
Dr. Gregg was a highly-respected educator and prolific author. He wrote three popular history books for the profession: The Story of Optometry, American Optometric Association: A History, and History of the American Academy of Optometry, 1922–1986. His writings appeared in 200 different magazines or journals, totaling more than 500 articles. In addition to the 15 books he authored, he also wrote more than 900 newspaper columns that appeared in more than 150 newspapers, and about 100 brochures on vision.
He also was successful as an outdoor writer. He published hundreds of articles on fishing, conservation, camping, and travel including cover stories for Field and Stream magazine. He combined his technical writing on optometry and his love of outdoors and became a leading writer on vision for the sportsman; and wrote the book The Sportsman’s Eye.
Dr. Gregg received numerous awards and accolades over his long career, including “Optometrist of the Year” from the California Optometric Association in 1956 and the “Distinguished Service Award,” from the American Optometric Association in 1982.
Dr. Gregg died at the age of 94 in September 2009. He was inducted, posthumously, into the National Optometry Hall of Fame in 2010.